Lucas João came off he bench for Sheffield United and got an assist earlier today. If the owls were ready to part with him I think we could do way worse, massive potential in that lad if he'd be given a it of confidence and a clear role in the team IMO.

I wouldn’t be so quick to get rid of Evans. We’re basing our team on young players on the way up in their career, which I think is the right way to go, but we still need a contingent of experienced players who knows this level or higher, certainly in the central positions.

It's the Premier League as a whole. West Ham, with no money from player sales, European cup play or commercial revenue has still just bought a player for £35 million, and has brought in 6 players before him. Just being in the PL, regardless of quality or result, nets you enormous money these days.

Marcus Antonsson is close to signing for Malmö FF, according to Swedish media.

I appreciate that any tired player could make a similar mistake, but I do wonder if a traditional, out-and-out centre back would have sliced that ball like Walker did.

Pfft, we would have won that if it weren't for Pickford. ...in all seriousness though, a solid example of how a counterattacking team runs into trouble if the other team scores first. Bad decision to bring off Forsberg for Olsson as well, our best period of the game ended there and then.

Sending the Swiss home without breaking much of a sweat... Who's next?

That's Holland, Italy and Germany we've sent home so far. Who's next? Taking on all comers!

Terrible result for Sweden, we'll just have to start with 3 points tomorrow against South Korea and take it from there. At least the German strikers look to be off the boil, might become a big problem for them down the line.

Bleach. I miss the AC Milan ripoff away kit.

Agreed. Sunk due to a combination of losing some of that pace, and coaches falling in love with his abilities as an extreme target man rather than a runner or finisher.

...and in the same category, Shaun Wright-Phillips was a joke at Chelsea and QPR after his pace went as a result of injuries. Looked lethal when he emerged at Man City.

He probably wouldn't have become an England international, but I certainly had higher hopes for David Thompson than what his career turned out to be. Ravaged by injuries, and could then never realign his playing style when his place and tenacity went down a bit.

He's very tactically inclined, likes switching formations and using players in different positions to get the most out of them against various oppositions. Favors an attacking style of play with lots of possession, and he's had a remarkable record when it comes to giving players who are seemingly over the hill or have failed elsewhere second chances and turning their careers around. Östersund's results have waned so far this season, but that's likely mostly due to criminal charges being brought up against their highly influential (and possibly crooked) chairman.

If I were him I'd get the hell out of a club where the manager tells me I'm best used as an impact sub. He's only 23 years old, no time to waste away his career on a bench.

I can see clubs being wary of signing Dack. He's unproven at Championship level, has a season-derailing off the pitch scandal on his resumé, and plays a fairly specialized role that only exists in certain formations. If he keeps performing for us in the Championship next year it will of course be a different story.

Said in an interview a few weeks ago that his contract wouldn't be eligible if the team were relegated. Still, I suppose it wouldn't be the first time a player and his club had different views on that sort of thing.

My shout for a new centre forward: Sebastian Andersson. Available on a free after having having scored 11 in 28 for relegated Kaiserslautern (German second division) last season. 26, strong, tall, hardworking, but still with a bit of pace and not a Heskey-like lump. https://www.transfermarkt.com/sebastian-andersson/profil/spieler/147573

Way too risky to start a season in a new division with a completely new central midfield, Smallwood will at the very least begin the season in there. Main focus should for me be new wingers (Conway is past it and Armstrong has a dodgy record on Championship level) and a new main striker. We might very well need a new centre back as well if Mulgrew's injury record rears it's ugly head again.

A bit of a shot in the dark, but does anyone have any experience with Green Hill boxing gloves? Looking for a new pair and the Tiger model seems to fit most of my criteria, but I'd have to order them online and won't have an opportunity to get a proper feel for them before buying.

...and we sent them both home, taking on all comers! Qualifying fair and square can never be a travesty, I've never understood that line of thinking. Why even bother with a qualification stage then?

"Swedish international" is incorrect, as I don't believe that he's even been capped by the national B-side. Looked like a good player when I saw him in the Swedish league though, a pacey and loyal runner with some decent finishing skills. If he's up to the physical play of League 1 he'll be quite a scoring threat.

I honestly believe this is the formation we should focus on going forward, wouldn't mind us defending our way to promotion one bit.

Ol' Souey was implicated (but never convicted or officially accused of anything) in the Andy Cole transfer as well, had close ties to the agency that no doubt collected a substantial amount of the £8 million we paid for him.

Surprised that this came off in the end, though it had the smell of a planted story to drum up interest from other suitors. Very happy with it though, seems like a solid replacement (possibly even an improvement?) for Guthrie if his legs are up to playing 30+ games in a very rough league.